


Ghostly Pale

by SuperTempsRUs (JaskiersWolf)



Series: TenDonna Prompt Ficlets [5]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Ficlet, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff without Plot, Life in the TARDIS, Sick Character, Sickfic, Tumblr Prompt, can be read romantically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22804252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaskiersWolf/pseuds/SuperTempsRUs
Summary: Donna's bedridden by a strange alien illness and it's up to the Doctor to look after her.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor & Donna Noble, Tenth Doctor/Donna Noble
Series: TenDonna Prompt Ficlets [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1639510
Comments: 8
Kudos: 33





	Ghostly Pale

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ALittleWrath](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ALittleWrath/gifts).



The Doctor was buried deep under loose bits and bobs in his workshop when the Tardis alarms starting ringing. He dove across the floor, which was covered in broken up bits of machinery that he was trying to repurpose into a clever device that would help balance the caffeine levels in the coffee machine. Donna kept complaining that the coffee tasted like it came out of an elephant’s ass, which was complete nonsense because it tasted nothing like that, but he could admit it wasn’t the best coffee in the universe, and Donna deserved the best. He snatched up his sonic screwdriver and pocketed it before dusting off his trousers as he jumped to his feet. 

“What’s wrong, Old Girl?” He asked the Tardis as he headed towards to console room to check the readings. 

To his surprise, as he turned the corner which should have taken him back to the front of the Tardis, he ended up in the residential area. Donna’s door was right in front of his face. He blinked and then looked up at the ceiling. 

“Why on Raxacoricofallapatorius have you brought me here?” He raised an eyebrow and stroked the wall next to Donna’s door. 

The wooden door seemed to glow brighter and a gust of wind threw him forward so he crashed head first into the mahogany panels. He yelped and rubbed his nose. “Ok ok!”

“Spaceman?” Donna’s voice called from inside her bedroom. 

In an instance he knew something was wrong. Her voice sounded weak and if he listened hard enough he could tell her pulse was a lot slower than it should have been. He sniffed the air deeply and then frowned. She was sick. “Donna? Can I come in?”

“Doctor?” She asked again.

“Yes it’s me.” He bounced impatiently outside her door until she gave him permission to come in. He’d learnt pretty early on that you did not enter Donna Noble’s bedroom without an invitation otherwise you would get a slap or a pillow thrown at your head. 

“I think I’m dying.” She groaned and the Doctor decided enough was enough and barrelled through the door. 

Donna was lying in bed, in pyjamas that looked suspiciously like his own, with tissues littered around her. She was ghostly pale and her skin had a strange green shine to it. Her hair was matted and stuck to her cheeks. He’d never seen her look so terrible. “Donna!” He cried as he ran to her side. “Donna what happened?”

“Thought I’d pop in to see Hades for a laugh.” She chuckled weakly. 

He rolled his eyes and pulled out his sonic. As he pressed the button down, the device whirred to life an emitted a familiar comforting blue glow. He paused to look at the readings. “What?” 

“Don’t bleep me.” Donna groaned. 

“You won’t notice if you’re dying.” He shot back. “Which you’re not, by the way, but I’ve not seen this before and the Tardis usually manages to isolate all viruses and diseases in the Tardis. This should be impossible!”

“What’s wrong with me?” She croaked, and as she did she glowed a little brighter.

The Doctor grimaced. The air around her tasted wrong and bitter and not at all like Donna Noble. “I don’t know.” He admitted as he pulled out a small needle. “This might sting.”

“You what?” She protested but not before he could jab the needle in her arm. “Oi!”

He drew a small vial of her blood and looked at it in wonder. Her blood was glowing with a strange ghostly light. “Oh look at that.” He said with a grin. “That’s brilliant!”

“Oh my god, I’m haunted.” Donna gasped and hid under the covers. To his delight the fabric began to glow as if she were shining a torch. 

“You’re not haunted.” He insisted. “It’s probably just an alien parasite that’s decided you make a very nice host. If I can just find a way to extract it then it’s just a quite trip in the Tardis back to it’s home planet and…”

A hand reached out from under the covers and hit him over the head. 

“Stop enjoying this.” She grumbled. “I’m telling you. I’m haunted.”

He took hold of her hand and pulled the covers from off her face. “Donna, do you trust me?”

“Do I have to answer that?” She asked and he just raised his eyebrows at her. “Fine. Yes. God knows why.”

“You’re not haunted. There’s no such thing as ghosts.” He squeezed her hand in what he hoped was a comforting manner. 

Donna chuckled under her breath before her laughter caused her to cough. He winced as she squeezed tightly on his hand and covered the bed sheets in saliva. “He travels the universe fighting aliens throughout the whole of time…and doesn’t believe in ghosts.” She giggled breathlessly. 

“Because they aren’t real.” He rolled his eyes. 

“Next you’ll be saying astronomy isn’t real.” She teased, knowing full well that he had absolutely no faith in horoscopes and star signs. It was a debate they had every week when the Tardis delivered her magazine subscriptions. 

“I’m going to let that slide because you’re sick.” He muttered. “I just need to run some tests and then I’ll be back. If you need anything just call, the Tardis will let me know.” He sighed and brushed her hair from off her face. “And if there is no parasite then I’ll find a priest to perform an exorcism, deal?” He teased. 

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re joking right? You said I wasn’t haunted! There’s no ghosts. You just said there’s no ghosts.”

“Well,” He paused for dramatic effect. “I can’t know everything right?” He winked at her and ran from the room so he could run some tests in his lab. 

“DOCTOR!!” Donna yelled after him. 

He grinned. He would pay for it later but it was totally worth it. 

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt “I’m telling you. I’m haunted.” - by ALittleWrath (chronic-pain-crowley on tumblr)
> 
> Again... part of my little challenge to myself to write a collection of short stories. I think I have one prompt left to write. If you ever want to send prompts then my tumblr is also Avengersbarnes :) I tend to write one shots around 6k if I'm not working on a longer story (like Ripples in Time). 
> 
> Hope you liked it :) Let me know what you think. 
> 
> \- Yaz


End file.
